Welcome to my Food Journey

Curious Southern Cook on a journey to learn...and to create exceptional dining experiences. I love entertaining and preparing food for loved ones & friends and sharing those experiences with others. My wish is that you will be fed too. Bon Appetite!

Monday, April 29, 2013

The home gardens, Farmers’ Markets and Grocery Stores are laden with options aplenty for fresh salads and assuredly they’re not always consistently the same items.If you make a habit of growing/selecting a multiplicity of ingredients to keep on hand from the six categories below…you will have a tasty, balanced formula for making interesting salad combinations that you may not have thought of before.I am always concerned when one or more daughters changes their diet to vegetarian (no meat) and do want to make sure that they consume adequate protein.With this formula, it’s there…it’s all there on purpose stocked and ready to mix and match to make salad magic.Thus the name “Purpose Salad”, plus I would like to think that by being purposeful about eating healthy with local, sustainable ingredients that my/our purpose gets a little clearer.

Procure ingredients, wash veggies, fruit and prepare each item to advance to the state desired for salad readiness.Ex: if roasting veggies, slicing/grating cheese.Begin to layer in a visually appealing way starting with base and the next items go from largest to smallest, ending with nuts cheese and other small item toppings.Tip:Pre-moisten Base with dressing in a bowl before plating.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

It's late and we have just returned from visiting the "Country Mice". You see our dear friends Michael and Contina live way out where signals refuse to roam and legends of "Big Foot" are absolutely plausible. All kidding aside... Neil and I, the "City Mice", escape a couple of times a year to spend time with our friends and just "be". Sit on the dock, fish, walk in the woods, talk about the most trivial or important subjects of the day and admire the latest art works in process by our very creative friends. We always have a meal there too and tonight it was Contina's special grilled chicken using herbs from the garden. Being a "Southern Lady", I just can't show up empty handed... so I requested to bring a dessert. Cobbler is always a winner and in this case was very appreciated. I hope you have a chance to make it for your family and friends...guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of country mice and city mice alike.

Apple-Pear Cobbler(for the Country Mice)Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

4 Granny Smith Apples, washed, peeled, cored and sliced

3 Bosc Pears, washed, peeled, cored and sliced

Acidulated water (about 8 c water with 2 T lemon juice)

3 T cornstarch

1 c brown sugar (divided)

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t salt

4 t crystalized ginger, diced fine

4 T unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c Old Fashioned Oats

Whipped cream topping (Optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare fruit and place in container with acidulated water until all is processed.

Drain and dry the fruit with paper towels.

Place back in container, add cornstarch and with clean hands toss until well distributed.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 c of brown sugar, cinnamon and salt until combined.Add to fruit and mix thoroughly.

Place in 11x7 baking dish.

Sprinkle ginger on top of fruit.

In small bowl combine butter, flour, remaining 1/2 c brown sugar, flour and oats, mixing again with clean hands and place over top of fruit.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Friday nights and comfort food just go together... and you don't get much more comforting than mac and cheese. Tangystringycheesydeliciousness! Add a salad and you have a complete meal. One of our favorite movies is on..."Shawshank Redemption", so I better go. Y'all have a great one!

Cheesyroni with Ham

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 13.25 oz. box whole grain elbow macaroni

4 T unsalted butter

¼ c all-purpose flour

2 ½ c milk (I used 2%)

¾ t salt, plus 1 t extra for pasta water

¾ t garlic powder

½ t white pepper

½ t paprika

½ dried thyme

4 c grated cheese (I used a combination of cheddar and mozzarella)

3 c cubed ham

Method

·Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

·Prepare macaroni as directed adding salt to the recommended amount of
water, drain and hold until needed.

·Heat milk in a pan or microwave and have ready to the side.

·Melt butter in another pan, add flour and stir until thoroughly
combined.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Today is Earth Day. A day to reflect on Mother Earth and how we can improve our stewardship...hopefully not just today, but make meaningful changes and habits that will make a difference beyond today. I have been trying to make meatless meals on Mondays believing it to be good for my health and hopefully make my footprint more positive here on Earth. Planting a tree once a year is nice and without preaching...there's so much more each of us can do today and everyday.

We love Thai food. Having limited restaurant options locally, I wanted to experiment using as many fresh ingredients as possible to create this recipe. Also, wanting to know more about beverage pairings for this dish, I spoke with a friend and neighbor who lived in Thailand for 5 years. Pamela Brown is a former U.S. Diplomat and is still very passionate about her experiences there... with the people, food and culture. Her recommendation pairings for spicy Thai food are Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc for wine or Singha or Chang if your leanings are toward beer, noting that Thais drink their beer with ice in the hottest months.

We have come through quite a week with Boston and West in our prayers... I also lift you up and our home, we call it Earth... and know that together we can make a difference. Enjoy!

·Add carrots, reserved bok choy and 1/3 of the sauce, stir until combined.

·Add bean sprouts, reserved tofu, green part of sliced scallions and last 1/3 of sauce, stir until combined all heated through.Turn off heat.

·Plate and garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Lyrics for the Earth Day Anthem set to "Ode to Joy"

Joyful joyful we adore our Earth in all its wondermentSimple gifts of nature that all join into a paradiseNow we must resolve to protect herShow her our love throughout all timeWith our gentle hand and touchWe make our home a newborn worldNow we must resolve to protect herShow her our love throughout all timeWith our gentle hand and touchWe make our home a newborn world~CGJ

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Early on Saturday mornings… typically I will leisurely catch
up on my recorded cooking programs while drinking the coffee required for all
of that carpe diem stuff.Today was a
little different in that I only watched part of one show.I love Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” and this
particular episode was all about “Oats”.One of the featured recipes was for “Waffles” using…you guessed it, “Oats”.I don’t make waffles near enough to please my
husband and I love oats, so I had to copy his recipe and tinker a bit. The
result is what you see below and I think makes excellent oooaaahfffles.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Busy week night
wind down…time to chill out.Not feeling
like spending much time in the kitchen, so “simple” is the word.This Smoked Salmon Dip is ready to serve in 5
minutes or less with the combined classic flavors of smoked salmon, capers, red
onion, cream cheese and sour cream. That's it...5 ingredients and ready to serve
in a jiffy, enjoy!

Smoked Salmon Dip

Ingredients

8
ounces Cream Cheese (room temperature)

4
ounces Smoked Salmon (shredded)

1/2
cup Capers (drained)

1
cup Red Onion (chopped)

8
ounces Sour Cream

Directions

Add
Cream Cheese and shredded Smoked Salmon in a bowl, mix until
combined

Add
Capers and chopped Red Onion, mix until combined

Add
Sour Cream, mix until combined

Transfer
to serving dish, serve with crackers, enjoy!

Tip: Try reduced or fat-free cream cheese and sour cream to lighten it up...it is still delicious and actually I can't tell a difference.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

I am feeling the need to eat healthier, still be creative and without question...enjoy the taste of what I consume as nutrtious body fuel. This smoothie will fit all criteria and if you have the problem of getting veggies into your kiddos, this may be an option for you. Make sure your ingredients are very cold to start as processing will increase the temperature. Enjoy!

Sunrise Smoothie

Yield: 2 12 oz Servings

Ingredients

4 oz
Silken Tofu

1.5 c
Vanilla Soy Milk

2 T Old
Fashioned Rolled Oats

1 medium Orange,
peeled

2 T Honey

2 Carrots,
peeled washed and cut into half inch sections

.25 c
Craisins

Method

Place
ingredients in a blender or Vitamix in the order as follows:

All of Tofu, .25 c Soy Milk, Orange, Oats, 1 T Honey.

Process until smooth and pour into 2 12 oz glasses until each is one-third full.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

I
feel very fortunate to be able to help organizations in our community.Recently my husband and I hosted a principal
cast member from Shreveport Opera’s production of “Rigoletto” for 3 weeks.When departing, he left behind some well
appreciated food gifts.Along with a
gift of fresh pineapple shared by my Mother-in-law, I decided to challenge
myself and create a recipe featuring those ingredients.You know…like as if you were on one of those
cooking competition TV shows.Well
except for the wine, which I am saving, I used all of the other gifts in this
creation; pineapple, pepper jelly made with ghost peppers and honey with
honeycomb.The contrast of flavors is
off the charts. When thinking about them
together at first…you can’t imagine it working, but just imagine creamy honey frozen
yogurt with pineapple tinged slightly with heat strewn throughout and topped
with honeycomb, drizzles of pepper jelly and more pineapple.Thanks to all for the gifts… they inspired me
to come up with this unlikely creation and the next time you are feeling a
little adventurous, I say go for it.Enjoy!

Pineapple
Honey Pepper Frozen Yogurt

Yield: 1
quart

Ingredients

1.5
c fresh pineapple, cut into tidbits

1 T
unsalted butter

4 T
honey (divided)

1 t
hot pepper jelly, plus additional for garnish (I used one made with ghost
peppers)

Dash
of salt

2 c
plain whole-milk yogurt

2 c
plain nonfat or reduced-fat Greek yogurt

.5
c Splenda

Honeycomb
for garnish

Method

·Melt
butter into a pan; add 1T honey and pepper jelly and salt stir until combined.

·Add
pineapple, stir and continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Don't judge. I was trying to efficiently use up remaining bulk garlic and create a recipe for a "Meatless Monday" meal for tomorrow. It all works fabulously together and is very tasty indeed. Even though there are 2 cups of garlic cloves in this soup, the roasting sweetens and mellows the flavor. It's not overpowering, but the old rule of thumb still applies...make sure your sweetie has some too. Wink Wink!

Roasted Garlic Beer Soup

Yield: 9 cups (4 to 6 servings)

Cooking time: 2 Hours

Ingredients

2 c garlic cloves (plus additional for garnish, optional)

3 T olive oil, divided

2 medium onions, medium dice

6 T all-purpose flour

1.5 t salt

1 t pepper

2 12 oz. beers (Killian’s Red was used in testing)

2 c whole milk

1 c plain yogurt

Method

Place garlic in a baking dish with 1 T of the olive oil, cover and roast in a 300 degree oven for 1.5 hours.

Meanwhile place the remaining 2 T of olive oil in a heated pan, add onions and cook on low stirring until just beginning to caramelize.

Add the flour, salt and pepper stirring to combine and continue to cook for 2 minutes.

Add beer, stir and continue to cook until it begins to boil.

Turn down the heat, add milk and garlic and continue stirring until heated through. Turn off.

Process the soup safely in batches with a blender or a Vitamix.Return to pan.

Remove a cup of soup and mix with the yogurt returning to pan and stir until thoroughly combined.

Check seasoning and adjust if needed.

Heat soup on low until it reaches serving temperature.Ladle portions into bowls and garnish if desired.

Garnish:Slice
cloves of garlic thinly add to a heated pan with 1 T olive oil, add a dash of
salt.Continuously stir until garlic is a
light golden brown.Remove from pan
quickly as it will continue to cook.Place gently on top of soup, serve and enjoy!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

I have quite a reputation for making Beignets that I serve at our local

Shreveport Farmers’ Market.It doesn’t start until June 1 and lasts through the Summer.You wouldn’t believe how often I get asked when it will be and why don’t I have a regular venue.Everyone misses those sweet, (made from scratch) yeast dough pillows of goodness.There’s the standard Beignet order of 3 and then what we call Mini Binis…a smaller bite sized, easier to share form of the standard, plus the kiddos love them.I decided to create a quick version to share with you as most care not to commit the 4 plus hours per batch to make them from scratch.The slow yeast dough method is best of course…but you’ll just have to come see me at the Farmers’ Market to get those.In the meanwhile…enjoy!

Quick Mini Binis

Yield 12 Mini Binis, 2-4 servings

Ingredients

1 c self-rising flour

1/8 t salt

Dash of nutmeg

2 T honey

1/2 c buttermilk

Vegetable oil – enough to make a minimum of 2 inches in your frying pan

Mix flour salt and nutmeg in a bowl, add honey and buttermilk and stir until combined.

When oil is at the proper frying temperature of 360 degrees Fahrenheit, drop the batter in batches (I use a small cookie scoop) into the hot oil.Do not crowd with too many at a time as this will decrease the temperature and allow for oil absorption.Continuously monitor temperature, turning Mini Binis as they brown.

When golden brown on all sides, remove from the oil and place into the powdered sugar, coat and plate.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Last year, we were on a smoothie kick about this time and unfortunately we got off of it.

It takes planning to keep items in stock to have enough variety so that you don’t get tired of them.I think that's what happened, but I do remember feeling much better at that time and even shed extra pounds.This one was a favorite and when I texted my husband that we were having PBJ Smoothies for dinner tonight, he texted back “Can’t Wait”…I jest not.I do wish health and happiness to all of you, and try a smoothie every once in a while, besides really liking them…you may just feel a “little” better.Tip: When you go to the Farmer's Market or find fruit or veg (yes veggies too) on sale at the market...buy extra and freeze them prepared and ready to go for future smoothies.